UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday urged Israel to reconsider a law that, if adopted, is likely to result in the demolition of up to 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev desert. The proposed Law for Regularizing Bedouin Habitation in the Negev (Prawer-Begin Bill) seeks to offer …

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday that the 2005 trial and conviction of former Russian oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev was not politically motivated. The court, however, did find that various aspects of the court proceedings violated articles of the …

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Wednesday that Israel cannot be listed as the place of birth on US passports for citizens born in Jerusalelm. Section 214(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act requires the State Department to list Jerusalem, Israel, as the birthplace for US citizens …

A judge for the US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on Tuesday delayed enforcement of an Alabama abortion law until March 2014. The Women's Health and Safety Act, signed in April, requires abortion clinics to meet unprecedented medical standards that supporters argue will protect women from unsanitary conditions. These standards require …

Federal bankruptcy judge Steven Rhodes issued a stay Wednesday on all litigation against Detroit during the city's bankruptcy. Rhodes asserted that his court has exclusive jurisdiction over the case. While Wednesday's decision did not determine whether Detroit will ultimately receive Chapter 9 protection, it allows the case to proceed on the merits and gives Rhodes the …

A regional court in Russia on Wednesday denied an appeal by Maria Alekhina, a member of the feminist rock band Pussy Riot. Alekhina filed the appeal after a court denied her parole in May. Alekhina and her fellow band mates, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevic, were sentenced to two years …